Three people were shot to death in less than a minute at separate locations Tuesday in Fresno, California, authorities said. A fugitive wanted in a previous homicide was arrested at the scene.

The man, identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, who investigators said used the alias "Black Jesus," was arrested and was being held awaiting at least four counts of murder, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters.

In addition to the three people who were killed Tuesday, Muhammad had been wanted in connection with the shooting death of a security guard at a Motel 6 last Thursday, Dyer said.

At least 16 rounds were fired in less than a minute at four locations, including a Catholic Charities facility, where the gunman killed a man in the parking lot, Dyer said. None of the victims worked at the charity, he said.

While police said the gunman yelled "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great" in Arabic) during the incident, it was too early to say whether terrorism was a factor, Dyer said.

[...]Muhammad is black, and all of Tuesday's victims were white, Dyer, said. Social media accounts linked to Muhammad expressed anti-white and anti-government sentiments, Dyer said.

Confessed killer Kori Ali Muhammad was charged Wednesday with three counts of murder in connection with a downtown Fresno shooting rampage that left three people dead on April 18 – a crime that makes him eligible for the death penalty.

Muhammad, 39, already is charged with murder in Fresno County Superior Court with the April 13 shooting death of security guard Carl Allen Williams III at Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno. He also is accused of the attempted murder that night of security guard Oscar Menjivar.

A new criminal complaint filed Wednesday charged him with the murders of Mark Gassett, David Jackson and Zackary Randalls, and the attempted murders of Stephen Walter, Michael Flores and Mark Greer. He also was charged with special circumstances that could make him eligible for the death penalty – committing multiple murders, and selecting his victims based on race.

Muhammad’s arraignment is pending the outcome of a psychiatric evaluation that was ordered by a judge last week after Muhammad entered the courtroom in shackles and yelled: “Let black people go!”

Judge W. Kent Hamlin suspended criminal proceedings and appointed a doctor to examine Muhammad. Hamlin then rescheduled Muhammad’s arraignment for May 12.

Until then, Muhammad will remain in jail in lieu of $2.6 million bail, Hamlin said.

The mental health assessment of Fresno shooting rampage suspect Kori Ali Muhammad will take more time to complete, a judge was told in a brief court hearing Friday.

A new court-appointed lawyer for Muhammad, Richard Beshwate, told Judge Brian Alvarez that the psychologist evaluating his client needs another two weeks to prepare a report. A hearing in Fresno County Superior Court was set for June 1.

As he had done in two previous court appearances, Muhammad shouted, “Let black people go and reparations.” He also yelled “pray for the missing black women and children in America” and “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” He again promised an increase in natural disasters if those demands were not met.

Criminal proceedings remained suspended Thursday against accused Fresno rampage killer Kori Ali Muhammad after a court-appointed doctor said he was legally incompetent to stand trial.

In response to the doctor’s finding, prosecutor Brian Hutchins told Superior Court Judge Brian Alvarez that the District Attorney's Office plans to hire another doctor to get a second opinion about Muhammad's mental state.

Hutchins said he hopes to have second opinion by July 7, when both sides will return to court for a status hearing.

With a bailiff standing behind him, Muhammad remained quiet throughout the proceedings. But once the brief hearing was over, Muhammad blurted out: “Let black people go. Reparations.” He also said “natural disasters will increase.”

Outside court, Muhammad's lawyer, Richard Beshwate Jr., said his client was found legally incompetent because he has a history of schizophrenia.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The family of the first man killed in an alleged Fresno murder spree says an accused accomplice threatened them in court.

Lisa Renee Martin was arrested as an accessory in the first of four killings in the spree -- the April 13 murder of Carl Williams at a Motel 6.

A search warrant claims Martin tried to leave the scene with evidence and helped Kori Muhammad escape the police dragnet around the motel. She was never charged.

She came to court Tuesday and Action News recorded her leaving court as she made sarcastic comments in response to complaints from Williams' family.[...]One psychiatrist determined the suspect [Muhammad] is incompetent to assist in his own defense. Prosecutors hired another psychiatrist for a second opinion. And on Tuesday, Judge Kent Hamlin appointed Dr. Howard Terrell to analyze the suspect to evaluate competency and whether the defendant should be forced to take anti-psychotic medication.

Dr. Terrell's report and that of the psychiatrist hired by the DA will be due August 22.

As the hearing ended Tuesday, the suspect hollered to "let black people go" and demanded reparations.

Prosecutor Brian Hutchins says he anticipates a change of venue motion, so he won't discuss the case.

Still deemed incompetent but one doctor disagrees. Sounds like they may have a jury trial to determine, once and for all, if he is competent to stand trial for the four murders. He continues to speak out in hearings "...to let all black people out of jail, for reparations...".

FRESNO, California - The man accused of going on a shooting rampage in Downtown Fresno in April, appeared in court today.

Two new mental health evaluations from the court appointed doctors claim Muhammad is incompetent to stand trial. But the doctor appointed by the Fresno County District Attorney's office disagrees. Muhammad's attorney says he'll work with the DA to come to an agreement.

"Now there is obviously a disagreement among experts that can be resolved many different ways one of which is a jury trial," said his attorney Richard Beshwate.

A jury will decide whether accused spree killer Kori Muhammad is mentally competent to stand trial. The trial will begin October 13.

The prosecution asked for the trial Tuesday after Muhammad’s lawyer and the Fresno County District Attorney’s office could not agree on Muhammad’s mental state. Two court-appointed doctors ruled him unfit, while a psychologist hired by the prosecution deemed him able to stand trial.

As he has at previous hearings, Muhammad yelled “let black people go and reparations,” “Allahu Akbar” and a few other inaudible comments as Judge Brian Alvarez attempted to close Tuesday’s hearing.

Accused Fresno rampage killer Kori Ali Muhammad on Monday waived his right to a jury trial and asked a Superior Court judge to determine whether he is competent to face murder and attempted-murder charges in connection with a crime spree that left four people dead last April.

On the first day of the court trial, Muhammad did what he has done in past hearings: he shouted that black people deserve reparations.

When Judge Jonathan Conklin asked him to stop, Muhammad said he couldn’t because his ancestors, past and present, were telling him to speak out.

“He hears voices,” Fresno attorney Richard Beshwate Jr., who is defending Muhammad, told Conklin.[...]The three doctors who have examined Muhammad in jail will testify. Two court-appointed doctors – psychologist Richard Kendall and psychiatrist Howard Terrell – say he is incompetent to stand trial. Psychologist Reid Meloy, who was hired by the District Attorney’s Office, says Muhammad is competent.

During the trial, prosecutor Brian Hutchins also plans to play telephone calls that Muhammad made from jail to family and friends that appear to show he understands what is going on. Beshwate said he plans to call Muhammad’s doctors and possibly relatives to the witness stand to show that Muhammad has history of mental illness.

Accused Fresno rampage killer Kori Ali Muhammad, who has a documented history of schizophrenia and believes he is 66 trillion years old, can control the weather, and that UFOs are real, is competent to stand trial in connection with a crime spree that left four people dead last April, a Superior Court judge ruled on Monday.

In making his ruling, Judge Jonathan Conklin found that Muhammad, 39, of Fresno, understands the criminal proceedings in Fresno County Superior Court and is able to assist his attorney, Richard Beshwate Jr., in building a defense to the charges.

The ruling came as a surprise to Beshwate, who argued Monday that two court-appointed doctors had found Muhammad legally incompetent to stand trial because he is schizophrenic and suffers from delusions or psychosis. A doctor hired by the prosecution found Muhammad competent to stand trial.[...]Hutchins argued that Muhammad was “playing up his symptoms” in order “to manipulate the system.”

In talking with the three doctors, Muhammad was alert, made eye contact, and was able to give them a history of his mental illness, Hutchins told Conklin.

Muhammad didn’t get to hear all of Hutchin’s argument; Conklin kicked him out of the courtroom when he made an outburst, one of several he made during his competency hearing. Conklin allowed Muhammad to return to the courtroom for Beshwate’s arguments after he promised to keep quiet.

After announcing the ruling, Conklin reinstated criminal charges that had been suspended since Muhammad’s arrest last April. Conklin accepted Muhammad’s not-guilty plea to murder and attempted murder charges and scheduled a status hearing on Friday to determine whether both sides can proceed with a preliminary hearing on Feb. 1. The preliminary hearing will determine whether there’s enough evidence to order Muhammad to stand trial.

Kori Ali Muhammad was ordered Thursday to stand trial on murder and attempted murder charges after 10 police officers and detectives testified in chilling detail about his confession to the killing of four people last April, his fascination with voodoo, and the racism he experienced as a child growing up in Fresno that led to his resentment of white people.

But a key piece of evidence was revealed during the hearing in Fresno County Superior Court that could save the 39-year-old Muhammad from the death penalty, should the District Attorney’s Office decide to seek it.[...]Prosecutor Brian Hutchins said the decision whether to seek the death penalty has not been made. But he said Beshwate will have the opportunity before then to state his case to the District Attorney’s Office as to why Muhammad’s life should be spared.

At the conclusion of a three-hour preliminary hearing, Conklin ruled Thursday there was enough evidence for Muhammad to stand trial on the charges. Conklin then ordered Muhammad, who is being being held in the Fresno County Jail without bail, to return to court for his arraignment on Feb. 21.